A centralized quarantine center. The Ministry of Health has just reported the first coronavirus case in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre - PHOTO: TNO

HCMC - The Ministry of Health has just announced the first coronavirus case in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre, bringing the country’s Covid-19 tally to 123 today, March 23.

The female patient stayed in Malaysia’s Sarawak for about four months. The 17-year-old traveled to Brunei from Malaysia on March 17 and returned to Vietnam on Royal Brunei Airlines’ flight BI381 through HCMC-based Tan Son Nhat International Airport on the same day.

On the afternoon of the day, she took a coach home in Ben Tre Province and then self-isolated at home, the local media reported.

On March 22, the HCMC-based Pasteur Institute confirmed that she tested positive for the virus, which causes the Covid-19 disease.

The province has put 1,600 residents under quarantine to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.